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FRANCE DRAWS A FINE DISTINCTION. Bettinci on Races Is Not Gamblinq — Insurinq a Bettor Anainst Loss is Gamblinq. •DurinR the rci"ent iettstfattsM of tliPtPermanent Racing Committee, appointed by the Minister of Agriculture to take over the functions of the French Jockey Cluh, a curious point arose when the pari-mmiiel came up for discussion." says a Faris correspondent to the Morning Telegraph. "It was proposed l establish a spe.ial Ossee .«n Hie race eoarse wliere steeplecteMM were lield. at wliich backers could insure airainst a loss llir.oitcli the fall of the horse which they hail l.a.Ui-d. The ri_r ilia tor of lliis ingenious KbMM NSgaated tiiat any holder of a ticket at the pari -iiiutiiel could. l y paying 10 per cent, on his investment to lliis otlice. secure the rep.iymt lit of his *iake if Hie horse was prevented fniiu winning hy accident. ■I here seeinel on the face of it much to lie mM in faor of this arrangement. I. in ilie laws agalaat gamhling will not permit it to be put inio operatiijp. It is pointed out with some show of reason thai a bet made on the retail of a horse race is net gamh ling, as the result of the rate does not depend BSM01 chance. A man u ho makes a bet is really hacking his latelllgence. By stady and obaerratloa he has come to the eoaclaskNi that a eertala horse onglit to he superior to the others in the eoatest, ami the Mai who wins obtalaa ;he reward of his alculation*. "The fall of a horse is a tna;ter of uncertainty. While it may lie said that the best horse will al must assuredly win. it is by no means so certain that the worst bMW will fall, and the element of gambling is too strongly pronounced in lliis baser alee scheme to obtain ofhci.il and legal recognition. "It may be of interest if 1 faote a few srords from the report on ilie aloe lueni ioned proposal made to the committee by M. Michel Tanlit: We are told, he said, that the return of Makes at the pari inutuel in Ilie event of the l.mse falling will t;ie -.aiisfaction to the ptihliw. to owners, to the race societies, to the state and ecii 10 morality. We cannot examine it from those different points of View; we must simph consider if the proposed combination is permitted by law. "Article l,M4 of the Crcfl YmIp distinguishes between assurani ■»■ and ganibling. Assurance is a measure of pradeace destined to prevent loss, and to guarantee against some fortuitous event: while a gamble has the unique object of winning thioiic.li the iustrtiinentalit.N of Chance or hazard. In default of any exact legal detinilion. lei us recall thai give* by jurisprudence, which lays down that a bet is a Convention by which two or more parties seek re-ciprocall. a fata subordinated bj the realization of ki me event or fact which one of the panics atliuu-and which the other denies. " In the present combination we find an agency Which promises to repay to an investor the sum which he has slaked in the case of the horse chosen being the victim of a fall. The operation thus brings in elements which comprise Ilie basis of gambling. There is a great dnieieiiee between this transaction and a bet at the pari niiiiucl. There t lie backer lakes a horse ttii win or for a place, his choice baiag determined by personal moihes drawn from bis knowledge of the horse, its pcrlormances. its jockey, etc. " In the combination now proposed, hazard is the uniipie factor, and it constitutes t lie sole object of the convenlion: ilie Operatloa constitutes, there fore, not an assurance, as the piom, iters claim for it. but a gamble, which is forbidden by legislation. "I should very lunch like to know what tile lawyers on your side of lite o.can think of this line point: and I submit that it is worthy of attention at the present moment when 1 see the reformers In your country are eadeareriac to make out that there is no distinction between betting and gambling. A.conliifc. to tin- lrench code as Interpreted by M. Tardit. a Wfjaer mi a hois,- race is evidently not gambling and Iocs net cine under the Gambling Ad. •A somewhat similar distinction was made in Belgium when a bill was passed by the Legislature there to dase gambling clubs ai Ostead, Spa, Naator and other pis raw After ih Inlng gsama of chance" which were forbidden, a Claase stipulated that Ilie Ihill should not lie applied to contests of skill, speed. or endurance. ami naturalU a borae race comes under this beading. "Hut if ilie insurance of a horse Bgatast falling is held to b illegal on account of the element of chance that is Introduced, what about the insurance of a ship against SMS at sea.- Surely there is as great an element of , sapMe out on the rolling wave as at the open ditch. Take life ssearaaee sgala; dSea not the element of chance enter m the combination here? Wliere does prudence end and gambling Iwnln. sad rice renal The subject is ;l difficult one, and opens the door to much subtle argument, but ou Blast glTS the frenchmen credit for seeing Ihe solution of tlie matter in a rery dear way."
